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James knocked lightly on the open door to my room before stepping in. I’d left it open so I could see him when he appeared. I was in no state to be surprised anymore today. “You ready?” he asked me.
I nodded and slid off the bed, my shoes already on my feet. He pressed a kiss to the top of Emmaline’s head when she walked to him. “Go get some rest, little one,” he quietly told her. “You’ve had a hell of a day.”
She leaned up and pressed her lips to his before slipping by us and heading up the stairs. James silently led me down the stairs and out to the garage. He held my door open for me as I slid into the passenger seat of his SUV, giving him as wide of a berth as I could. He waited until I was seated and buckled before he closed my door and strode around to the driver’s side.
“I want to warn you of what you’ll see when we get to the hospital,” James told me as he sped off down the road. “Darren is in bad shape. At the moment, he’s being sedated to help with his pain. I don’t know how the fuck my brother survived, but he did.” James glanced over at my pale face. Nausea was swirling in my gut. What had happened to him? “I have a feeling that all has to do with you, though. My brother’s a fighter when it comes to people he cares about.”
I wanted to ask so many questions, but when I opened my mouth, nothing would come out – almost like there was a block. It was my mind’s natural defense mechanism around people and places I was unfamiliar with.
And though I’d been around James a few times now, and I knew he was supposed to be safe for me to be around, I couldn’t speak to him yet.
“He’s going to be okay,” James told me, somehow understanding what I wanted to ask. “No broken bones. Quite a bit of blood loss, but he’s going to make a full recovery.”
I breathed a sigh of relief, though my gut twisted at the mention of blood loss.
My father had tainted Darren, too.
When we got to the hospital, James led me over to an elevator. He stood on the opposite side of the small, confined space to give me room, which I was thankful for.
We came to a private floor, and James flashed his ID at the guard standing there before we were allowed back. James led me to the second door on the right, and he walked in ahead of me before holding the door open.
Tears sprang to my eyes as they landed on Darren.
His body was abnormally pale. Bruises littered his exposed skin, and deep lacerations were cut into his exposed arms, and he even had a cut on his neck that was stitched closed.
“Darren,” I cried, rushing forward. I grabbed his hand in mine as I sank to my knees beside his bed, sobs wracking my chest. “Not you,” I sobbed.
I never wanted this to happen to him, and suddenly, I hated myself for ever escaping, for ever dragging Darren into this mess.
Because the pain of seeing such a strong man confined to this hospital bed fucking hurt me more than being raped and beaten day in and day out.
I wanted nothing more than to take Darren’s place so he could be alive and well once again. My world wasn’t supposed to darken his like this.
“I’m so sorry,” I cried. “I’m so, so fucking sorry.”
